Chapter 6
It was near midnight as three ninjas appeared at the entrance to the Fire Country's borders. A small group of chunin appeared, all clad in the garb of the Konoha Village.
"Hang on, there. You're not going anywhere without authorization."
The tallest member, clearly the leader, pulled out a chain and sickle, still smirking.
"Don't worry. We have our authorization right here."
Three horrified screams rang through the night. The leader grinned, his teeth flashing, jagged as a tiger's.
"The Dragon Clan has arrived, Tsunade…"
Choji tapped the speaker on his headset, checking if his students were still there.
[Guys…well, one guy and two girls… Anyway…have you located the target?]
[This is boring… We couldn't do something a little more exciting. This is our fourth mission today. How many did you say we had to finish before we get to become chunins?]
[Ask questions later… Have you found it?]
[Object acquired on visual… Closing in on Hitomi. Get ready…]
[Roger…]
[We're ready on this side…]
Out of the trees from three different directions, Hitomi's team burst out, lunging at a mysterious shadow.
"Gotcha!" Hitomi screamed out as she held on to a flailing child, no more than four years of age.
"Lemme go! I'll get my daddy to beat you all up for this!"
"Save it, Mizuki Jr., "Choji replied as he appeared from behind, "Your dad's on a mission now…He won't be back for at least two more days…Just get back home."
Ten minutes had passed and Iruka's wife, Emi, squeezed her child close to her chest.
"Ohhhh…I missed you so much, sweetie!"
"Stop it, mom! Master Choji is standing right there!"
Choji sighed and turned back to Tsunade and Ebisu, who had become something of Tsunade's assistant. Ebisu flipped past a few pages and took the payment from the frantic mother, still as boring as ever to Choji. But this was his job until a real threat came along. The sunglasses slipped past Ebisu's nose and they were instantaneously returned to his eyes, which were beginning to fail him. The special jonin spoke, holding another slip with their new mission for tomorrow.
"Let's see here…Umm…I think this mission involves…Gardening Hinata sensei's garden…or is it…maybe…"
"Forget it!" Kenta called out, still peeved about their last mission.
Ebisu cleared his throat and faced the uppity genin, speaking in a more serious tone, "What was that? You'll accept the missions you're given!"
"Hold on, Ebisu," Tsunade spoke up, slowly stepping forward, "I think Choji's team deserves a special mission… Call teams three and four back here."
Minoru was getting slightly irritated. They had been waiting for nearly two hours. When was that stupid plane coming? He sighed, running a hand through his hair, almost tearing his hair out as he heard the telltale sounds of an approaching plane. Motioning to Shige and Natsumi, the three genin contacted Kiba through their headsets.
[Sensei!]
[The plane's here. We're ready to pick up the package.]
[Be quick about it. Hokage the 5th has called us back to the village. Says we've got a special mission to complete.]
[Fine…this was getting boring anyway.]
Shige leaped into the air, catching the small box as she turned in midair, launching back into the thicket, Minoru and Natsumi following.
It was finally the end of the day for Shino's group. He couldn't believe how trivial these missions were becoming. And what was the village getting paid? Next to nothing, that was what! Shrugging off the bothers, he contacted Basho through the headset.
[Wake up sunshine. It's time to go. This mission has been cancelled. There's a better mission waiting for us. It involves the other two teams as well.]
[Huh? …Oh…okay…]
Shino sighed again and turned towards the village, thinking to himself
What kind of missions involves three genin teams and their jonins?
Ebisu was getting impatient, which rarely happened in his old age. He was nearly 60, and every bone ached to get this mission over with. The last team finally arrived, a bit late, but no surprise, considering Shikamaru's child was in the group. As the 12 ninjas stood waiting, Ebisu called out.
"Hokage is busy now, so I'll tell you the mission… Let's see…Something about…ninjas…and…a…a mission?"
"Oh, for Kyubi's sake, let me see that, old man!" Kiba said, snatching the note. He gasped, his eyes widening as he handed the slip to Choji, who then passed it over to Shino. All three jonins were spellbound by the mission, but none of the genins could figure out why. Except for Basho, of course, but he was napping again. Tsunade walked outside her house, still tapping her cane, as she was nearly 70 herself, losing her sight and hearing. She called out to the three jonins, her voice a bit raspy.
"Where's the mission? Ebisu, you didn't lose it again, did you?"
"N-no ma'am! The three team leaders have it."
"I see…So…do you understand why we need all three of the groups of junior ninja?"
Shino nodded, while Kiba and Choji followed suit, still in shock.
"Well…here goes, "The Hokage replied, pulling her hand up, controlling the very air to bring the note back to her. At least he sight wasn't completely gone. "This mission will undoubtedly be your hardest, since it involves many different tasks at once. Firstly, there is a rogue trio of ninja from the Earth Country in our own country. This is breaking a treaty we made with them three months ago. We need to capture them and interrogate them about the reasons for their intrusion. They call themselves the Dragon Clan, which we've never heard of, even through intelligence groups. They're quite mysterious. The reason why we need all 12 of you is because the team is rumored to all be high-ranking jonins in their own country. Of course, they're also missing nins. But no ninja hunter has been able to catch them. All we know is they're called the Hanzo Daredevil, Hanzo with a spear and the Gengo executioner.
Anyway…the first priority is gathering info on their whereabouts and members. Next, you have to locate them and engage them in combat. Don't be reckless, you three. You know how dangerous Earth Country ninjas can be in their natural environment. And lastly, capture them and bring them back here, dead or alive. Understood?"
The trio nodded and turned to their subordinates.
"Oh, and continue training the children. They may get some combat experience on this mission."
"You get all that, kids?" Choji said, gaining a hesitant nod from all nine children.
"This'll be dangerous, so prepare yourselves accordingly. We leave tomorrow." Shino followed up.
Kiba grabbed Shino on the shoulder.
"Why do you think they didn't call on Kakashi's team? You know, with al the power of that kid?"
"Because he's still unstable. The seal has always been a bit edgy, but he's gaining a lot more power at this age. He's nearly an adult, you know. At that point, we have no jurisdiction over him. That's why we have our four best jonins guarding him. Anyway, you know how the kid is around others… A bit…violent, if you will."
"…I see…"
"Well, we'd better be off too, guys. We've gotta pack, food, water, supplies, food…"
Shino and Kiba simultaneously dropped their heads and followed Choji towards the inner village.
